Friday, April 27, 2012

Funky Fridays! My next series!

Writing News: I finished my manuscript, Forsaken Dreams, book 1 of the Escape to Paradise Series! I turned it into my publisher, so it is officially off my desk! Well, at least until I get the edits.

Here's a brief story blurb.

The Civil War brought loss and devastation to thousands of people. No one knows that better than Colonel Grant Wallace, who lost his only brother on the battlefield and his entire family in the burning of Atlanta. Now, all he wants to do is escape the heartache, the memories, and the abuse of Northern rule and start over in Brazil where he can help rebuild a new Southern utopia.

Eliza Crawford can barely remember the
days of her youth spent in opulence living at her parent’s upscale
hotel in Marietta, Georgia. If only she hadn’t married Brigadier-General Stanton Watts, she wouldn’t
be in such dire straits. Even after his death, her family would not forgive
her for marrying a Union soldier.
Now, rejected by peoples on either side of the war, Eliza finds herself alone
in the world, without friends, family, or means to provide for herself. Perhaps
in Brazil, with her secret hidden, she can escape her past, her pain, and the
rejection and start over.

When a group of Southern colonists board a ship bound for Brazil to start a new colony that will preserve their Southern way of life, they didn't expect to endure such a harrowing journey. But when repeated disasters strike their ship, including a vicious storm, a strange illness, a fire, and a bird attack, they begin to wonder if there isn't some evil force trying to keep them from their destination. In addition, some of the passengers are not whom they seem to be. An x-law man searching for pirate gold, a stowaway seeking revenge on his father, a doctor terrified by the sight of blood, a woman running from the law, a spoiled plantation owner's daughter intent on turning the ship around, and a politician with a penchant for the occult, to name a few. What secrets do they hold? And could those secrets destroy the colony before it even begins?

I don't have a cover for this book yet, but I'll post it as soon as I do! The book releases in February 2013!

And our weather here in California has finally turned warm and sunny!

Here's a picture of the scenery on my daily walk on a trail behind my house!

20 comments:

Fri Apr 27th,"Morning, MaryLu."First of all: "Congratulations" on finishing "Forsaken Dreams" ... and, all before the May 1st "dreaded deadline" !!! Way to go !The 'new book' sounds great, the description of the story is fresh and intriguing ... February 2013 ... a tad ways off ... but I am quite sure ... well worth the wait, as always !!!What a wonderful scenic route of the trail behind your house ... beautiful. Keep on enjoying those 'daily walks' !Our weather here in Ontario, Canada is still fluctuating ... basically, in the low 40's and 50's. But 'next week' ... the warmer temps are 'supposed to' start climbing once again.Thanks for sharing all of this wonderful news with us, MaryLu. And, now, once again ... just 'maybe' you can enjoy a little "R & R" ... well deserved and welcomed !Take care, and, God Bless,In Him, Brenda Hurley

Hello ladies! Congratulations MaryLu on your book! It sounds great - I look forward to reading it too! :)What a gorgeous picture from behind your house! Ahhhh....Like Brenda said, here in Ontario it's up and down. An hour north of where I live just had a foot of snow dumped on them. Yuck. Not good for April! But soon, it will pass and we'll have consistantly beautiful spring weather that will lead into gorgeous summer - hot and sun! Bring on the beaches! :) The sunsets over Lake Huron have been great to see the past few days, and I can almost picture a glorious old ship sailing across ...I'm reading Surrender the Heart right now, and loving it, by the way! Thank you for great stories of faith and love! Well done!

After reading this post I thought "this is so intriguing"! Then I read Brenda's comment and she used the same word:) I checked dictionary.com and found the word to be spot on.

Congratulations on finishing! I am sure many readers will be counting the days:) You have some fascinating characters on board - can't wait to meet them!I love how you are writing about different time periods! Jennie

Caroline, I wonder if you live near Brenda? Anyway, living close to such a huge lake is like living by the sea.. I love the sunsets here in California, although I don't get to the coast to see them as much as I'd like. If you close your eyes.. you might picture that majestic tall ship! Gld you're enjoying STH!

Michelle.. I'm happy to know you, you know that? Gang, Michelle here took me into her house when I was on a booksigning tour in Minnesota a few years ago. She had to put up with me for 3 days.. ugg.. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. :-)

Jennie, Thanks so much! Switching around the historic time line has a huge price, however. I've got to do lots and lots of research. After this series, I may just choose a time period and stay put for awhile. :-)

Fri Apr 27th .....Hey again, MaryLu."R & R" ... stands for -- Rest and Relaxation. That is what I am hoping for you ... that you get some much needed/deserved -- rest and relaxation (for now, anyway).And yes ... I was 'wondering' where Caroline lived too ? I'm in the Niagara Peninsula ... very close to Niagara Falls.Well, "R & R" MaryLu ... okay ... now that you know what it means ?Have a great weekend.Take care, and, God Bless,In Him, Brenda Hurley

Hello again ladies! Brenda ... I'm about 2 hours north of Sarnia on the coast of Lake Huron, in a small town with GREAT sunsets, sandy beaches, and a couple of shipwrecks to boast of (well, what's left of them!)Ha! It's beautiful where you are too, though! Lots of history there. Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Wow MaryLu! I want to read this so badly...I could stomp my foot from the yearning to read it right NOW...though that clearly is not going to happen. lol. Tempting us before we even have the chance to read Veil! tsk...lolAs far as the weather this week we had weather over 90 degrees!!! But today was stormy.

Tell me, MaryLu, will you ever consider writing a story that takes place after the 1800s???

Forsaken Dreams sounds reeeally awesome MaryLu!! Oh boy, I cant wait, Im already intrigued!!!And that trail behind your house is beautiful! What a blessing to have!By the way, I know your next book release is Veil of Pearls this June, and this book is releasing in 2013, but wasnt there another book you wrote in there somewhere-? I thought I remember you talking about being apart of this series with other authors...Anyways, thank you so much for sharing about your next series! Congratulations.God Bless!!!

Sat Apr 28th ...."Morning, everyone".Caroline ... yes, you live in a lovely area too ... but we're not exactly 'next-door-neighbours' though, are we ? Just a tad "several" miles between us.And Tori (comments from above this one) ... I also remember that MaryLu was a part of another novel ... four authors each writing their own mini-story ... if I remember correctly. What happened to that one, MaryLu ... and what is the title of the book ?Okey-dokey ... guess that is it for now.Take care, and, God Bless,In Him, Brenda Hurley

Rebekkah, I'm duly chastised for teasing you! Sorry about that.. Wow, over 90 degrees? Now, that's a tad too hot, even for me! I might consider a story after the 1800s.. but it would probably be a contemporary set in our current time. I really don't care for the 1900s at all. American values really started to slip during that time.

Tori, Veil is out in July. And yes, I do have another book coming out in August. Brenda is correct! It's a novella called Rendezvous at Central Park. I'm one of 4 authors. Each author wrote a small story included in the book. I'll post about it soon! Thanks for remembering, Ladies.. There's also a bit about it on my website.

I agree MaryLu. We learned all about the after WWI and the after WWII...really sad how people decided to do whatever they wanted without thought of consequences. But I think we're worse today--a lot.Yeah it was 97 degrees and the track team still had to run.-Rebekkah xD

This sounds so EXCITING!!! Now that I've heard about all the crazy characters on the ship... sounds like it might be your "craziest" story yet. (Not meant as an insult at all, lol.) I love when there are a bunch of quirky characters and conflict :)

And I'm a little jealous of that weather :D It was hot here in March but now it's back to cold, windy, and sometimes rainy :/